Black-tailed Bumble Bee
Bombus melanopygus
This record describes Bombus melanopygus (species). Recorded family: Apidae. Recorded order: Hymenoptera.
Identification and Appearance
Wikipedia reference for Bombus melanopygus: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombus_melanopygus.
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Arthropoda
- Class
- Insecta
- Order
- Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies)
- Superfamily
- Trigonaloidea
- Family
- Apidae (Cuckoo, Carpenter, Digger, Bumble, and Honey Bees)
- Subfamily
- Apinae
- Tribe
- Bombini
- Genus
- Bombus (Bumble Bees)
Imported taxonomy record. Source availability varies; see the source references and editorial policy below.
Habitat and Range
Habitat
Broad, including dry chaparral in California but also humid areas in the Pacific Northwest.
Geographic Range
mostly w. NA, also in e. NA - Map (Discover Life)
Diet and Behavior
Diet: The Hosts section of its Discover Life species page lists known associations based on specimen records and images.
Additional species information
Species notes from the sources
Etymology: Bombus melanopygus Nylander, 1848
About Flies: the wider group
Order-level background for Hymenoptera, the group containing Bombus melanopygus. Species-specific details appear above.
Group overview
Hymenoptera includes over 150,000 described species of ants, bees, wasps, and sawflies. Earth harbors approximately 20 quadrillion (20×10^15) ants, with a combined biomass of ~12 megatons of dry carbon - exceeding the combined biomass of all wild birds and mammals (PNAS, 2022).
Ecological role of the group
About 35% of the world's food crops depend on animal pollinators. The chocolate industry, valued at over $100 billion, depends on pollinating flies and midges. Ants are the dominant soil engineers in most terrestrial ecosystems, turning more soil than earthworms in many habitats.
Economic and practical significance of the group
Pollinators contribute $235-577 billion worth of annual global food production (FAO). In the U.S., bee pollination alone benefits crops valued at $18 billion annually, and honey bees are responsible for $5.4 billion in agricultural productivity. Between April 2023-2024, 55.1% of managed honey bee colonies were lost. The U.S. bee population dropped from 5 million to 2.5 million.
Recorded sources for this group: FAO, USDA, EPA, PNAS (2022), US Fish & Wildlife Service. Imported estimates may describe particular regions or reporting periods.
Photos of Black-tailed Bumble Bee (3)
Photo credits: Contributed by Joel Kits; Additional contributions by Beatriz Moisset , Mike Quinn , John S. Ascher , Aaron Schusteff